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Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758

Surmullet
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Mullus surmuletus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Mullus surmuletus (Surmullet)
Mullus surmuletus
Picture by Patzner, R.


Portugal country information

Common names: Ovas secas, Red mullet, Red stripped mullet
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: occasional (usually not seen) | Ref: Veiga, P., J. Ribeiro, J.M.S. Gonçalves and K. Erzini, 2010
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Found in Tagus estuary (Ref. 51031). Recorded from the south and southwest coast (Ref. 85184).
National Checklist: Portugal
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Hureau, J.-C., 1986
National Database: Portuguese Freshwater Fishes

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Mulliformes (Goatfishes) > Mullidae (Goatfishes)
Etymology: Mullus: Latin, mullus = soft (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 5 - 409 m (Ref. 56504).   Subtropical; 62°N - 14°N, 19°W - 42°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Western Norway, English Channel (rare in North Sea) to Dakar, Senegal and the Canary Islands, including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 16.1, range 15 - 26 cm
Max length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); common length : 25.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4845); max. published weight: 1.0 kg (Ref. 35388); max. reported age: 11 years (Ref. 92286)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Head is less steep. Barbels longer than pectoral fin. Body with longitudinal red and brown stripes. First dorsal fin with dark markings (Ref. 35388).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur on broken and rough grounds but also found over sand and soft bottoms at depths less than 100 m. Depth range from 5-60 m (Ref. 07313) and from 305-409 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). Feed on benthic organisms such as shrimps and amphipods, polychaetes, mollusks, and benthic fishes. Spawning occurs from May to July, eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 4845). Marketed fresh and frozen for steaming, pan-frying, broiling and baking (Ref. 9988).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

A determinate spawner (Ref. 41706).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Randall, John E. | Collaborators

Ben-Tuvia, A., 1990. Mullidae. p. 827-829. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 7313)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 July 2014

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Life cycle
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Egg(s)
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Distribution
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BRUVS - Videos
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Visual pigment(s)
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Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 7 - 16.1, mean 10.2 (based on 549 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00891 (0.00817 - 0.00972), b=3.11 (3.08 - 3.14), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.1-0.7; tm=2; tmax=10).
Prior r = 0.87, 95% CL = 0.58 - 1.31, Based on 9 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (42 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Low vulnerability (19 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.